I am sitting here with my arms killing me. The pain is managable but sometimes I can't understand why it would be physical when depression is mental. Where do you usually hurt?

I tried to do a poll. I am not sure if it is going to work. I hope it does.

I don't hurt...I just get overwhelmingly tired.

Liz

I get that too. I'm falling apart!

I can get migraines, back/neck aches...stuff like that. I also experience the fatigue!
Fun stuff, huh? As if the emotional pain weren't enough!

IG

You are so right! At first, my pcp diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. I am wondering if I have that too or if it is the depression. Now that I think back, I was diagnosed with it when my meds did work. I can't stand the fact that it is yet another ailment. Like you said, as if emotional pain weren't enough!

I get Nausea, stomach cramps, headaches, muscle aches and mega fatigue



Torchwood

oh yes, lots of general aches and pains. I think I get stiff because when really depressed all i want to do is sleep and sit and stare. I think it is important to get up and get moving.

Brenda

I am depressed 24/7 so I am glad I don't get nausea or cramps. I wouldn't be able to handle that.

OMG...that is all I want to do too. I have no motivation to get moving.

Tired, Fatigue,tight shoulders, nausea, and a pain where my heart is as if someone has just died -- but they haven't -- it's not my actual heart just the pain you feel when you're emotionally hurt (I've had an EKG and my actual heart is fine)..........

My depression was triggered from the chronic pain of fibromyalgia and disk degeneration. Since then I've been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Adrenal Insufficiency, small vessel disease of the brain, inflammation of the brain, chronic migraines, chronic insomnia, neurocardiogenic syncope, spinal stenosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, arthritis, restless leg syndrome, tinnitus, hormone imbalance, and bilateral carpal tunnel. The related symptoms from the physical problems include large unexplained bruises, extreme sensitivity to anything sensory (light, noise, smells, temperature), nausea, chronic pain (especially in my back, hips, legs, feet), muscle spasms, chest pain, cognitive disorders (especially memory lapses, difficulty thinking of the correct words/names), Paranthesia (numbness/burning in hands and feet), disequilibrium (light-headedness, poor balance & coordination), and fatigue. So, yeah, I physically hurt with depression!

GOOD TOPIC!

I have difficulty explaining to non-sufferers that depression is not only mental but can be physical too. When I've been deeply depressed my whole body aches, inside and out. Some of that is due to tension in all the muscle groups, some of it is due to prehensile fear which makes me ache inside, some is headache due to feeling tired++ .........

Even my teeth and my shadow ache ....... if I've been immobile with depression.

I can relate to all that others have posted too, especially the nausea, sitting and staring! With medication, a good Doctor and a supportive hubby I have come through ........

Oh yeah. Whole body pain. I hate it. I pop more tylenol when I am depressed (when my meds aren't working) than any other time. So when the new statement went out about tylenol being worse for you than they thought, I knew I was caught between an rock and a.... whatever they say.

I know exactly what you are saying. I hope one day we will be able to overcome this.

i'm exhausted all the time and get migraines quite often. i get the nausea too.

yes, depression makes any pain worse. My last episode was complimented with vocal cord dysfunction. It was horrible and I thought I was dying. The pain in my chest and the emptiness that I felt were unbearable. I felt like my chest was a huge empty space of vaccum, sucking the life out of me. Yes, I had just about every test imaginable and they misdiagnosed me with asthma. I finally went to a good pulmonologist that diagnosed the VCD. I ended up with going to a speech pathologist and they teach you relaxation exercises when you feel yourself going into an attack. At first I couldn't relax enough to do the exercises, so, back on the benzos I went.
Depression does hurt physically.
Lucinda

I usually get a really bad headache when I get depressed. I also get really tired and physically worn out.

I get discomfort in the center of my chest and my legs, hurt...really hurt. So much sometimes that I have to push myself up from a seated position. Head/neck pain/tightness right were my spine attaches to my skull.

My pdoc started me on Cymbalta which has helped quite a bit.

I have nausea, pain in my knees, ankles, shoulders, migrains and oh yeah, intestinal problems!

Moe

Yeah, that's right, I forgot about the IBS, which some docs claim is part of the anxiety, not because of bacteria or whatever. I get abdominal pain daily and it has just become a part of my life that I just live with it.

Sometimes I do, but rarely. It's strange, hard to explain.

When I'm depressed I get aches in my knees, calves and fingers.

I dont.. just nausia when im particularly bad.

For me, it's a constant, dull, ache, like muscle pain. I almost always feel tired and sore, like I've overexerted myself.

I also get dull, ache, like muscle pain all over, headaches, nausea, IBS, and fatigue. When I'm depressed my psoriasis flares up and i seem more prone to catching colds, stomach bugs etc.

Hmmm... my constant mental processes seem to affect how I physically feel, i've noticed. Though I can't tell if it's the anxiety, or depression... or both. Whatever, lol. I can't seem to separate the feelings, they've kinda... merged. >_>

But generally I feel nauseous, light-headed and dizzy, VERY fatigued (I could probably go to bed at 8pm and get up at 12pm next day no problem *yawn* ) , and I get headaches (but not stabby pains, just a dull... constant... pressure, sort of thing... it aches, it does!) ... I think that's all...

Well I used to I know my myself sick from it and get very angry and tend to get stuff broken.

I usually don't feel well anyway, but when I'm depressed it always gets worse.

I get the whole tight, aching, empty, crampy, chest pain and shallow breathing with it. (had ekg, so i'm okay) i also get extremely fatigued, a few weeks ago i pretty much slept for 36 hours straight, minus bathroom 'breaks', which i could hardly get up for anyway. fun fun.

Some days I hurt so bad I can't get out of bed. The neck spasms cause such bad headaches that I keep my sun glasses on even in bed.

Bev

I don't feel physical pain. I just feel so lazy and tired not to do anything, which in itself is more depressing.

I don't know if what I get can even be described as pain. I feel like invisible fingers are poking my body.

I absolutely feel physical pain. I've had what my doctor said was the beginning of ulcers (though those my be caused by the anxiety that seems to go hand-in-hand with my depression) which caused unbearably painful stomach pains, migranes, dizzyness, and when I'm very depressed I bruise easily and heal slowly (I think it effects my immune system or something...), I get chest pains that people get when they're very upset, have trouble breathing, my tempurature goes a little crazy on me, and my throat becomes sore (like when you're about to cry). I'm -always- tired, so I'm not even sure if I shoud consider that a symptom anymore, but it does get incredibly worse when I'm in a worse mood than usual.

If im worrying about something I get nauseated, IBS symptoms and headaches. I do notice when lying in bed trying to stop the racing thoughts in my mind, my legs ache and I usually end up sleeping on the couch watching tv all night with tiny cat naps till morning.

Hi turtleshell, what do you think of my frogs?

I don't feel physical pain but when I get very depressed my body slows down a lot. My walking, talking, eating all slow. My voice also drops to sounding very low, flat and monotonic.

"Depression is all in the mind" is a myth. For severe biological depression (and other disorders like bipolar) the symptoms can present themselves in all kinds of physical ways.

Distracted... I do like the tower of frogs. I think that we have batteries that are going weak. But do you undersatand why a few days are good days and then without warning Im sad and go find my self watching tv up atairs by myself or out in the yard watering and weeding by myself.....

When my depression was at its worst, I definitely had physical pain and physical symptoms. Constant headache, sweaty/clamy hands, stomach pains. I once even had what I would call a hot flush - in my teens! It may sound like I'm exagerating but have you ever seen a cartoon where a character is hot for some reason and they slowly turn red from the ground up - that's exactly what it felt like. It was scary as hell, I didn't know what was going on. It only happenned once and I can't explain why but it was intense. I wasn't in a stressful situation, as far as I can recall I was at home watching tv or something like that.

Sometimes...mostly I just feel empty.

Yes I do understand that. I have bipolar and sometimes experience what's called "rapid cycling" (no bike involved). I can go from incredible elation - superman stuff - to severe irritability in no time. It's somewhat a pain!

Hey

i get really tired and exhusted and worn out (they all mean the same thing ) but when i get really depressed i dont want to talk to anyone and i ache all over and feel as though i could sleep for days

so really what i am saying is i get really tired and aches

neck is the worse though it really hurts and shoulders

well there is mine

kaz

My heart feels hard and tight and clamped with numbness, I don't know if that counts, the lack of feeling is painful.